Ex-presidents salute Graham as his library, history complex opens

Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter

Jun 26, 2007

Three former presidents and a crowd of 1,500 helped to dedicate the $27 million library and history complex at Charlotte, North Carolina, created to honor renowned evangelist Billy Graham, who has met with every U.S. president since Harry Truman.

Former president George H. W. Bush gave an emotional keynote address in which he commended Graham for starting a moral awakening in the U.S. and in the former Soviet Union. Indeed, said former president Jimmy Carter, Graham’s message had “permeated the entire world.”

The May 31 event became so heartfelt that Graham, 88, likened it to “attending my own funeral.

“This building behind me is just a building,” Graham said. “I’ve been here at the library once, and my one comment when I toured it was that it was too much Billy Graham. My whole life has been to please the Lord and honor Jesus, not to see me and think of me.”